What's the salary of an NBA ref? Donaghy's house worth $1.35 million

[clevfan]

NBA referee suspected of betting on basketball

By CHRIS ANDERSON
Sarasota Herald Tribune

LAKEWOOD RANCH — The FBI is investigating Lakewood Ranch resident Tim Donaghy concerning allegations that the NBA referee bet on professional basketball games, including games he officiated, the league acknowledged Friday.

The FBI is also looking into allegations initially reported Friday by the New York Post that the 40-year-old Donaghy had connections to organized crime.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Donaghy made calls that impacted the point-spread for games that he or organized crime associates wagered on, according to The New York Times and other media reports.

The Associated Press reported that an unidentified law enforcement official said that Donaghy had a gambling problem and was approached by mob associates through an acquaintance.

The bets reportedly consisted of thousands of dollars and were made over the last two NBA seasons.

Donaghy recently resigned his position with the NBA, and is aware of the investigation and reportedly plans to surrender to authorities, perhaps as early as next week, according to several media sources.

Donaghy, who was born in Pennsylvania, has lived in Manatee County since August 2005.

His six-bedroom home on the 16th hole of King’s Dune Golf Club is for sale. The home is worth $1.35 million, according to the Web site of Peens Property Group, which is selling it for Donaghy.

A woman who answered the door at Donaghy’s Lakewood Ranch home Friday afternoon said, “I’m sorry, we have no comment.”

Minutes later, a man who refused to give his name pulled into the driveway and said he would go inside to see if Donaghy would make a statement. The man emerged from the house and said that Donaghy was not at home.

Two pair of children’s in-line skates were next to the front door of the house and a small American flag was planted in the ground on the front lawn.

No referee, linesman or umpire has ever been arrested or indicted for fixing games in the history of the four major professional sports — baseball, football, basketball and hockey — in America.

The fallout from the investigation could seriously damage the image of the NBA and call into question the game’s integrity.

Defense attorney John Lauro confirmed that Donaghy was under investigation but refused to comment on the case, the AP reported.

Donaghy has refereed 772 regular-season NBA games over 13 seasons.

He officiated in 131 games from 2005-2007, the years in question.

He worked 15 playoff games in 2005-06 and 5 this past season, including a Detroit Pistons-Orlando Magic game April 23.

Bob Delaney, a veteran NBA referee who lives near Donaghy, said he had been advised not to comment on the investigation and referred questions to the league office.

NBA commissioner David Stern issued a statement Friday afternoon and said additional comments would be made at a news conference next week.

“We would like to assure our fans that no amount of effort, time or personnel is being spared to assist in this investigation, to bring to justice an individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports, and to take the necessary steps to protect against this ever happening again," Stern said in the statement.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

[Garbage Time]

I thought referees in most sports (not NFL) were getting 200-300K?

[Hartley]

Senior NBA Referees make about 400k a year